Cross My Heart and Hope To Die
by Spryte Magnus
Summary: Izzie Stevens is a girl who overcame her origins. Denny Duquette is a man who only exists on paper. Yet he will be the man who changes her life. AU, Sequel to Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. Set Season 2 of Grey's anatomy, Season 1 of SPN. I own nothing.
1. Chapter 1: Begin the Begin

**Cross My Heart and Hope to Die**

(Author Note: I own neither Grey's anatomy or Supernatural. This is set Season 1 of Supernatural, Season 2 of Grey's Anatomy. Very AU. Some of it will be directly pulled from the show. With notes on the side)

**Chapter 1: Begin the Begin**

_I hate goblins._ This was the thought John Winchester had as he was rolled into Seattle Grace. He'd been helping a friend get rid of an infestation and the goblins had no intent to leave. They'd also organized with pixies neither John nor his friend had known about. As a result the pixies attacked the wiring while the goblins opened the pipes. One electrocution later John was in an ambulance with his fake insurance information as Denny Duquette. The only reason he was here was because his family doctor, one of the only men he'd told the truth, had sent him there. He had some sort of medical issue and there was a specialist there who could help him. The doctor had said it was important. From across the country.  
"From sea to shining sea." And then there was the why Dean and Sam had to do this on their own. Because he needed medical attention. _Happy New Year._

Izzie was in the bathroom sipping her coffee. Meredith's damn dog hated her and George. She could hear his yells as he ran by.  
"Izzie! IZZIE!" His yell was evident and she stopped sipping her coffee to open the door for him, hiding behind it. When he came in she gave him the mug.  
"I'm thinking of coloring my hair. I'm thinking red." She commented.  
"Red's good. I'm thinking of cutting mine." Uh oh. George was having doubts. Probably involving Meredith.  
"Yeah, it would look good shorter."  
"You think?" And outside Meredith was giving her dog affection. The only one the dog liked. Izzie and George crept out carefully.  
"We need to talk about the dog." George began.  
"That's not a dog," Izzie emphasized, "It's a Hyena that skipped the zoo and dressed in dog's clothing."  
"I don't chew his clothes, urinate on his bed or try to mount him from behind." George stated.  
Meredith's defense. The second she left the dog whined. Then he resumed growling at them.  
"He tries to mount you from behind?" Izzie asked.  
"Tries to. He tries to." Yep. It was an average morning for the new year.

The routine was get lectured. Izzie worked not to laugh when they said no more then 80 hours a week. Cristina would go insane. She scolded Karev, but she'd forgive him and let it go for now. Asked how his tests went.

Oh! Heart patient. Bailey was asking John if they had a heart. Dear god, he was in bad shape.  
"No offense Dr Bailey but I'm not a big fan of hospitals. It takes something special to get me in here." He said. Anything he couldn't find some way to handle on is own. As Greg knew that was a lot.  
"What do we know about Mr Duquette?  
It took a lot to get John's heart moving anymore. At least, in the none adreniline pumped sense of the word. The blonde intern he was looking at was just the thing to do it and he began babbling.  
"Capricorn, single, loves to travel and cook..."  
"Denny, be quiet. Let her show off." Bailey scolded him. The woman amused him. Missouri had mentioned her sister's husband was the chief, hadn't she? A recommendation for the establishment. The blonde woman spoke now.  
"Denny Duquette, 36, admitted today for a Heart Transplant." Ha. 36. How long ago had that been? "Necessitated by viral cardiomyopathy." That didn't sound like electrocution. What had Greg put on his papers? Bailey was next.  
"And what does that mean?"  
"That his heart can't fill and pump blood normally."  
"Good," praise from Bailey, John got the feeling it was special, "Denny, this is Dr. Stevens. She'll be tending to you prior to surgery." John felt a smile playing for some inexplicable reason. How much older then Dean was this girl?  
"So I guess I'll be seeing you around Dr. Stevens." He said as he beamed at her. She giggled and walked out. The man next to her glared before following.

Izzie was giddy. So he was a heart patient. Mr Duquette had flirted with her. And now Karev was jealous.  
"Gotta hand it to the guy, trying to get some action when he's practically a corpse."  
"Alex, He was just trying to be nice." She rolled her eyes, even if she knew he was mostly right. So they spotted George and Bailey traveling. She was commenting about the 80 hour rule. George said something about the baby and rest. Izzie wished she could have stopped him.  
"You saying I look tired?" He was toast. Bailey was going to eat him alive.  
"No, not tired," he was trying to save himself. "You look fresh, spry. You glow. What, You..." He whispered stop now. He got sent out.  
"You do glow." Izzie offered.  
"Like the moon." Karev added. He was banished to the pit. Izzie wanted to squeal in delight. She'd be tending to Mr. Duquette while Karev got stuck in the pit.

"Hey." John saw Dr. Stevens prep and she jumped.  
"Hey, I thought you were asleep." But she smiled none the less. He liked her smile.  
"Nah, I don't sleep in hospitals, I'm scared I'll never wake up." So John's reason was because he had too many enemies. She didn't need to know that. Dr. Stevens smiled as she put her stethoscope to his chest. Damn it, she was young enough to be he daughter. He knew that. But when she listened to his heart and her brows burrowed, he felt his spirits lift none the less.  
"Can I ask you something personal?" He tilted his head on the pillow to glanced at her. She continued checking.  
"If I say no?" It was an amused tone.  
"I'll hold my breath," he began and glanced up recalling the lines Greg had fed him, "Which will stop my heart, killing me. You're right here, you'll be charged with murder. Lifetime in prison being loved by a big old girl named Hilde." Her ammused tone didn't leave as Stevens answered.  
"So my choices are homicide charges or inappropriate personal questions from a patient?"  
"I know. Kinda sucks." Had he been this ammused recently? Maybe it was his pending death.  
"You know what, hold your breath. I'll take my chances with Hilde. I can do girl-on-girl."  
"Oh! So you're bringing up girl on girl. How can I blackmail you if you bring up girl on girl?"  
"What do you want to know?" Did she cave, or had she intended to answer all along?  
"That guy, Alex...you with him?"  
"No." Her tone indicated there was a reason. Disdain dripped from it. "Not anymore, and never ever again."  
"Good." John stated.  
"Good?" She asked.  
"Yeah, good." He grinned. "It means I won't have to fight him for you." Not that, despite heart problems, John couldn't win.  
"What makes you think I want you to fight him for me?" Her voice was getting more amused and her smile growing.  
"Hello, you are in love with me." He wasn't sure if he was joking. Part of him hoped he wasn't.  
"Am I?" She was laughing. That was a good sign. He grinned again.  
"Yeah, it's not your fault. I mean, I'm well off," A small lie, "but I'm not into money. I'm smart, but I'm not a know it all. I'm funny. I'm...I'm really nice, I love animals," except for Hell hounds and black dogs. And familiars, "And I'm hot. I'm a catch." Despite his age John Winchester knew he was fit. The hunting did that. Izzie made a fake swoon. She had a sense of humor.  
"You know if you can wrap your head around the enlarged failing heart and the dependency to IV meds." And that he hunted demons his entire life. That was the catch.  
"You're right. I am so in love with you," Izzie picked up her charts. "It's a shame really, since I'm with Hilde and all." And John laughed harder then he had in a long time as Izzie did before walking out.

Izzie beamed as she walked into the room and John looked up from tapping his finger.  
"Hey, Dr. Stevens."  
"Hey Denny. You okay?"  
"I've been waiting for this a long time you know? You're going to open up my chest, take out my heart and replace it with another one." John was sure he'd trust no one else with the handling of his heart. How had he fallen so hard and fast?  
"Well not me and not another heart. A better heart." Izzie replied with a small laugh.  
"What if something goes wrong?" So it wouldn't be her after all. Izzie walked over and held his hand softly.  
"Don't be nervous. Dr. Burke is an incredible surgeon and you're getting a new heart today. Just keep thinking about that."  
"Yeah ok." Could it really be Goblins and Pixies that did him in? Another man walked in. He'd met him earlier, right?  
"Denny!"  
"Preston Burke. My favorite cardio-thoracic surgeon." John made a mental note to put better names on his fake insurance cards.  
"Oh, your only cardio-thoracic surgeon, but thanks. I will be on the phone with Dr. Bailey as the organ recovery progresses. We wanna make sure that the heart stays viable, isn't damaged while the other organs are perfused. We'll have you in the O.R and if it is a go, we'll start the procedure before she even gets back." Burked handed Izzie a chart. John looked up at her.  
"Hey Izzie. She turned to him.  
"Yeah?"  
"I'm getting a new heart." She beamed again. That smile could light up the whole room.  
"You're getting a new heart." He smiled back. "I'll see ya." Izzie added. He managed to wave.  
"Bye."

Izzie was glowing when she sat down and looked over the tests. George had his head on the desk.  
"I have a girl whose parents want to keep a girl even though if she wanted to she could be a boy..."  
"Rough." She blinked for a minute. There was something fishy about the tests...  
"Hey, where do we keep the Ultrasound?"  
"I think it's in the maternity ward right now. Why?"  
"I need to get it..."

Izzie reached Denny with the portable ultrasound and smiled as he did.  
"Hey Dr. Stevens. Whats up?"  
"Just some last minute pre-op tests." Caused because she suspected him of telling a lie. Well, no. He'd had way to many injuries since his wife 'died' a few years earlier, according to the records.  
"Fair enough."  
"So I'll be doing an ultrasound first..." After making the procedure she faced Denny. "You don't have viral cardiomyopathy. You were electrocuted."  
"Why would you say that?"  
"I would say it because of how your heart is beating. Yes, it's bad. Yes, you need a transplant. But why would you lie about why you needed it?"  
"Because then you'll ask how I got electrocuted. And I don't have a good story."  
"Try me. I need a really good reason not to tell Bailey to come back without a spare heart."  
"...I'm a demon hunter. I fight the things that go bang in the night."

John hadn't wanted to tell her. Burke walked in with his neutral look.  
"Are we good to go Doc?" John asked. With luck Izzie wouldn't have time to report it.  
"Still no final word. I want you to have the healthiest heart I can find." Burke replied. John dared to look at Izzie. She looked oddly calm.  
"Dr Stevens, you'll be in there with us right?" He asked. Izzie glanced at Burke and opened her mouth. Then she shut it and turned back to John.  
"Yeah, I'll be in there with you." John managed a smile but he knew he'd probably have to explain later.

John didn't know when he fell asleep but when he came to Izzie was standing there. That alone would have been comforting her. Her expression, however, wasn't.  
"You're stalking me. You're a talker."  
"Well, can you blame me?" She retorted. Her voice was trembling.  
"So it's bad." John laid back. Izzie tried to put on a brave face. He'd seen to many to believe it.  
"You have time."  
"Liar." John stated. Izzie's face turned angry. Now she would be honest.  
"Fine! There's no time." God, he didn't want her angry. He needed her smile back. At least for now.  
"Well that's just spiteful...I didn't get the heart." She hadn't reported him. That's part of why she looked the way she did. The heart hadn't gotten to him. It had failed. Izzie shook her head.  
"You didn't get the heart..."

Izzie was confused as she stood at the hospital. A demon hunter. It was completely unrealistic, but Denny, or whatever his name was, hadn't been lying. She had a good feeling that he was telling the truth. She'd grown up around liars. She'd met liars in medicine. But he wasn't lying about this. Was he insane? No, it didn't seem like that. A nurse was pushing Denny in a wheelchair. Izzie glanced at him. She also couldn't deny there was something about him, adding onto the fact that he might just really be a demon hunter...  
"Denny, I'll see ya." Izzie managed one last smile to him. Denny glanced back up at her and smiled back.  
"Goodbye, Dr. Stevens." Then the nurse pulled him the rest of the way. Karev walked over to Izzie.  
"Hey." He followed her eyes. "He's leaving."  
"Didn't get the heart." Izzie felt a pang as she said it. If he was a demon hunter it was a blow against the greater good.  
"Sorry." He didn't mean it. He was jealous.  
"Yeah."  
"He's a good guy."  
"...Yeah he is." Izzie whispered. _You have no idea. I'm not sure even I do. She glanced over to where Denny had stood up. He glanced back at her, nodded, and walked away.  
_  
Izzie ended the day where she started it. Hiding in the bathroom from Meredith's dog. George was across the way. They were sharing a pizza. She was reading a magazine on the occult she'd gotten from the library. Meredith was yelling at her dog. It had finally gotten under her skin. She ran in with a handful of clothing. George opened the pizza box for her. Izzie rose an eyebrow as she reached an article in the back. It was about an incident locally. She rose an eyebrow. Supposedly the Good Shepard Center, a girl's reform school had been closed in the fifties, but an eerie presence was reported...


	2. Chapter 2: Nice to Meet You

_God Damn It!_

John swore as he reloaded his gun. The ghosts of the Good Shepard Center Reform School for Girls were less then receptive. If he'd heard the story right, one of the teachers had been abusing one of the students and been fired for it. Supposedly the student had taken her own life. When the teacher found out he'd gone back and shot himself in the same room.

There were remains. He'd found a hair brush, a razor, and a comb. Hair was more then enough to keep the ghosts. John had made the mistake of assuming the teacher was the only ghost. No sooner then he'd gone to light up the razor then the dead girl showed up, screeching like a banshee. He'd shot a round of salt at her, but the teacher had taken the hit.

Now he was hiding behind a desk and the ghosts had locked down the once upon a time teacher's office. John swore again. _How can it get any worse_?

As if to reply, one of the doors behind him creaked open. Years of instinct kicked in as John flipped around and aimed his gun.  
"Don't shoot, Mr Duquette! Its me!" There stood the blonde Doctor Izzie Stevens. She was wearing jeans and a buttoned up denim jacket, her hair braided. John groaned and lowered his gun.

"This is not good for my heart." He stated as she ran over.  
"And you should not be hunting demons while you have a bad heart." Izzie shot back. John raised an eyebrow, he couldn't help but laugh.  
"Ghosts at the moment. That's what you have to say to me? I should be getting bed rest?"  
"You shouldn't be making it worse." Izzie shot back. "And if you are going to a lunatic you should have a medical professional to keep an eye on you."  
"I thought you were an intern." John retorted.  
"That's not the point!" Izzie stated.  
"You wanted proof I don't have a brain tumor on top of electrocution."  
"No! Maybe. There are many conditions that could make you think you were hunting demons!"  
"You're right." John snapped, "Depression for quite a few years caused by watching my _wife_ burn alive and bleed out of her stomach on the roof of our six month old son's nursery!"

He hadn't meant to lash out. But he hadn't wanted to tell her what he was in the first place. She then couldn't accept what he said. Ghosts weren't willing to pass on. His youngest son, who he hadn't talked to in years, might become evil. Oh, and he was _dying_. Izzie showing up had tipped the scale. Her expression when he let it all out caught him off guard. It was shame, in herself. John had seen Dean wear it now and then when a hunt went south.

"I'm sorry." She exhaled and sat next to him. "You said ghosts, right?"  
"I thought you were a woman of science." John retorted.  
"I give the great beyond a chance. Had you gotten any other intern you'd be doomed."  
"I thought you were a doctor."

Izzie laughed and whacked him on the side of the head.  
"That's not the point. I'm here to help."  
"This isn't much of a thing you can just step into. They're angry ghosts. He was a violent man who abused a student."  
"I need more details here." Izzie stated.  
"It was statutory, what more do you need?"  
"Well that right there-" Izzie stated. "Maybe she did love him. Maybe he did love her. But because she was to young and he was to old they were forced apart!"  
"They took their own lives." John retorted.  
"Like Rome and Juliet?" Izzie waved her arm, "And they don't want to be separated again?"  
"And you think reasoning with them will do the trick?" John shouted back.  
"Maybe!"  
"Fine! Explain to the nice poltergeists you plan to send them both off, not just one of them!"  
"Fine!"

John groaned as Izzie stood up and made her way to the office.  
"Izzie-" When had the office door opened? _Shit._ It was too easy. "Izzie! Get out of there!" John shouted as the door slammed shut behind her.

Izzie swore under her breath as the door slammed. She'd have to keep her temper under control. Was the hall as cold as that room?  
"Oh this is bad. This is bad. If I die no one knows where I am..." She'd told them she'd gone to a baking class. "God damn it!"  
"...I'll be able to see him again?"

Izzie flipped around. A seventeen year old girl in the school uniform sat by the window. Izzie gulped and nodded once.  
"I think so. You both leave this plane of reality. I don't know what happens after this." Izzie smiled lightly. "I mean, I'm still living."  
"He might be joining us, after not to long."  
"Pardon?" Izzie raised an eyebrow. The girl looked to the window.  
"The man who came looking for us. He doesn't have long. A year, at the most."  
"Well I'm going to prove you wrong."  
"How?"  
"I'm his doctor." Izzie folded her arms. "And he does good things. So I feel the need to save him. And I will."

John looked up as the doors and windows opened and Izzie stepped out sucking on one of her fingers.  
"What happened?" He asked.  
"I burned my finger." Izzie stated. John blinked for a moment and stared at her. Then he started laughing. She stared back.  
"Why are you laughing at me?"  
"I'm not...not at you." John shook his head. "You just faces two ghosts. Burned their remains. And you're complaint is you burned your finger."

Izzie stared at him for a minute. Then she began to laugh as well.  
"Well, I believe you Mr. Duquette."  
"It's John." He cut her off.  
"Huh?" Izzie glanced at him.  
"My name is John Winchester. Denny is an alias because...well, demon hunting doesn't give insurance." John replied as they walked out of the building. Izzie nodded slowly and held out her hand to shake his.  
"It's nice to meet you, John." He smiled and nodded to her.  
"You too, Dr. Stevens."


	3. Chapter 3: Legacy

Mary was gone.

She'd been dead for years but now her soul was freed from the house they'd once lived in. Sam and Dean had handled that.

Missouri exhaled as she poured John some tea. She'd just finished scolding him for not talking to his sons.  
"What about when you die of a bad heart, hm? Who tells them?" Missouri finally asked. John jerked his head up and stared.  
"How'd you know...oh. Right." He looked back down.  
"Actually I know that because my twin sister told me." Missouri replied.  
"Your twin sister?" John looked up.  
"Adele. She married Doctor Webber, the Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace. Because she was stuck with me in childhood she knows about our side of reality." Missouri sighed. "There is help for you, if you don't become a lone wolf."  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
"Besides, that blonde intern is going to be keeping an eye on you." Missouri added.  
"Blonde intern...you mean Dr. Stevens?" John looked up. Missouri laughed a bit and leaned back.  
"You've been trying to avoid thinking about her. You think you should focus on the memory of your wife. But if she is a natural like you seem to think..." The psychic laughed. "You should train her."  
"She got lucky!"  
"She got the ghosts to calm down." Missouri exhaled. "You should get back to the hospital soon. Or at least get to Seattle."  
"I can't yet." He stated. "My sons need some help. still."  
"But what about your heart?"  
"When I can't go anymore..." John stood up, "I'll go back to Seattle Grace."  
"And you'll get chewed out."  
"...Izzie gets to distracted by me. By my side of the world." John stated. "I can't let her get involved."  
"I thought she was was Doctor Stevens."

John exhaled and faced Missouri.  
"What are you suggesting if I go back?"  
"Taking her on."  
"She's younger then Dean!" John exclaimed.  
"As an _apprentice_." Missouri clarified.  
"Really? I kind of already have a legacy."  
"You have your sons. Izzie has her own view of the world. She'd be a different hunter."  
"I'll think about it."

John exhaled as he walked back to his truck. He hadn't been back to Seattle for a while. Chances were Izzie had forgotten everything. None the less he found himself dialing a number he called a lot.  
"Hey Bobby. I need to talk. Can we meet up...?"


End file.
